State v. Mertz, Minn.Ct.App., 7/18/2011. Mr. Mertz applied for a public defender. He filled out the form, saying that he had only $1,000 in a bank account, then signed his name, witnessed by a deputy sheriff, below this statement:
I SWEAR TO THE TRUTH OF MY ANSWERS I HAVE PROVIDED IN THIS APPLICATION TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THE PENALTY OF PERJURY, INCLUDING A POSSIBLE CRIMINAL CHARGE AND PRISON SENTENCE IF I HAVE WILLFULLY PROVIDED FALSE INFORMATION.
The trial court appointed a public defender to represent Mr. Mertz.
Problems for Mr. Mertz started shortly thereafter when the sheriff found a pirate’s trove of cash - $36,900.00 – buried in Mr. Mertz’s back yard. At his next court appearance he amended his PD application acknowledging that he owned the treasure in his back yard but he did not think that he had access to it. The state, nonetheless, charged Mr. Mertz with perjury. He moved to dismiss the charge, saying that he was not under oath when he filled out the PD form, and that he had made a timely recantation of his “misstatements.” The district court dismissed the charge, saying that Mr. Mertz had made a statement under oath, but because he recanted his “misstatements” in the same legal proceeding and because his “misstatements” did not substantially affect the proceedings. The state appealed.
The appellate court said that all that Mr. Mertz did was “merely sign his name in the presence of a deputy, which was not an oath. The perjury statute requires that a formal oath be administered by a court-designated individual; otherwise, no perjury charge. The appellate court does suggest that a group oath administered by the court may suffice to support a perjury charge so look for that in a first appearance court room near you. Having decided that there was no oath, the appellate court does not reach the recantation defense.
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